The Three Times She Said No
by independentwriter-137
Summary: And the One Time She Said Yes. The first three times he proposes, she says no, and then finally she says yes. One-shot. FAX!


**A/N. I have no idea if this has been done before (and if it has please tell me) but it just sort of…fell into my head. Anyway, I hope you like it!**

**-The Three Times She Said No, And the One Time She Said Yes-**

_February 14, 2005_

He glances at her as he leads her blind folded to the picnic he prepared a few hours ago.

It's a beautiful candle lit dinner for two under an old tree. The moon shone brightly above them and illuminated the scene as though it was under a spotlight.

"Ready?" he asks.

"As I'll ever be," she smiles.

Carefully, he undoes the double knot holding the blind fold in place. He watched nervously as her eyes open and takes in the breath-taking scene; he carefully gaged her reaction and let out a sigh of relief when a smile spread across her face.

"It's great," she compliments, and he leads her to the picnic blanket.

The meal is a carefully thought out menu by Dr. Martinez. It had some of Max's favorites, including homemade enchiladas, spaghetti, and of course chocolate chip cookies.

He pours her a glass of grape juice since she refuses to drink wine; claiming it dulls her senses.

As unobtrusively as he can, he fiddles with the little box in the pocket and glances at her face again. She seems happy, after all, he spent months planning this out. He had this spot reserved for them on this specific day (since Valentine's _is_ the most romantic day) and planned out the typical cheesy speech he was going to say. It was perfect.

After eating, they talked for a while, had a few laughs. Fang was anxious, though. They were only seventeen but he knew she was the one for him; it was now or never.

"Max?" he asks.

"Yeah?" she answers.

Sighing, he shifts into a kneeling position and brings out the ring. It's nothing to extravagant, just a simple band with a diamond on top, but it was still beautiful; the perfect example of 'less is more.'

"Max, I've known you my whole life. I've loved you from the day I met you, even if I didn't realize it. You make me happy like nobody's business and I want to make it _my_ business to make _you_ happy. You're th only one I can see myself spen—"

"Fang?" she stops him.

"Yeah?" he echoes her answer to him before, unable to keep fear from creeping into his voice.

"I'm going to stop you right there. I love you, Fang, with all my heart, but this isn't the time. We're too young, can we wait a bit? We have so much time and I don't want is to rush into things. Look at you; you're giving a _speech_, for God's sakes, plus you're proposing on Valentine's Day which is too corny for either of us. I'll say yes eventually, just not now." She smiles sadly and kisses his cheeks softly.

He's speechless for a moment, the rejection stings but her words echo in his ears. _I'll say yes eventually._

_August 17, 2007_

They're nineteen now; both are in the same college. They're still going strong; they both pretended the rejection didn't happen.

For the second time, Fang touches the box in his pocket again. This time, he isn't going for something quite so corny. He should have known better last time, Max wouldn't have said yes then, but now? Well, it was worth another try. He would do anything to make Max his.

He asks her to go with him to the movies like a regular date. Then they went to her favorite fast food place, again just like any other date. Lastly, they went out for a fly, like on every other date. There was nothing overdone about it. This time, he would try to sound more like himself in asking her; he learned from the first time.

They land on a beach a few miles from the house. Both were flushed with the pure joy of flying.

"Hey, Max!" Fang calls as she begins walking toward him.

She smiles brightly, he warm brown eyes shining.

He gets down on one knee.

Her eyes widen just like they had before.

"Max, I love you and you love me. I want you to be my wife because I love you, Max. You make all the crap in my life worth living," he tells her.

He sees her reaction and feels a stab as he realizes she still wasn't ready. He puts the ring away and sighs.

"I'm sorry, Fang. I'm supposed to know when the time is right, and it's just not now," she explains. The look in her eyes tells him she wants to say yes, but he knows something is holding her back.

Right now though, he could only feel the pain in his heart. She said no. Again.

_March 30, 2009_

He got over the rejection over time, but not completely. No matter what it took, someday she would say yes.

He is hoping today was someday. The plan was to fly to where the hawks were all those years ago. It was such a special place for them; he thinks that maybe, just maybe, that would help.

So they fly there, both of them were excited to go back to the cave.

Hawks still soar high in the sky; they join in their flight patterns. They fly more powerful than they had in years. The rush the came with flying was incomparable—Fang wonders for a brief second if this is how it will feel when she says yes.

Eventually they rest on the ledge. Both of them are breathing heavily and Fang can't think of a better time to ask. A part of him's afraid that if doesn't ask now, he'll lose his nerve.

He just brings out the ring now, without getting down on one knee and without the long intro. This time he cuts to the chase. "Maximum Ride, will you marry me?" he asks her for the third time.

She doesn't even need to explain this time anymore. He knows her answer, and doesn't care for the why, so he flies away without a word.

_January 13, 2012_

It's been three years since he's last asked her. This time however, he swears is the last. He can only take so much heart break and hearing her say no one more time would be the end of him.

There is no plan this time. No special reservations, no plans, no special food, nothing. They're just there sitting in the apartment that they own. She's sprawled on the couch, watching some action movie after coming home from a long day's work.

He glances at the ring in the box for the last time. It's the same ring as it was the first time. It's strange, he thinks, that if only she'd said yes all those times he asked her before that they could be married now.

Taking slow, deliberate steps to the couch, he sits next to Max. She looks up and a small smile touches her face. Her face is still as beautiful as ever, he feels his heart clench at the possibility of her never being his.

"Max, this will be the last time I'm going to ask, okay? There's only so much rejection a guy can take. So, Maximum Ride, will you marry me?" he asks her, again.

"Yes," she answers.

Fang stands up, "I knew you would say that! Damn it, Max, why won't you just say ye—" then he stops dead in his tracks, realizing what she just said. "Did you just say yes?"

Max smiled widely and stands up with him. Her blonde head bobs up and down, "Yes!"

"You mean it?" Fang asked brightly.

"I do!" she smiles, and Fang slipped the ring on her finger.

He embraces her so tightly that neither of them can breathe.

When he lets her go, he lets out a shaky laugh, "It's about time, Max, about time."

**A/N. She finally said yes! Yay! Well, tell me what you think through a review; they're greatly appreciated.**

**-Indy**


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